Elder financial abuse runs rampant

With some 50 million Americans aged 62 and over — comprising a fifth of the population — financial exploitation of elders is a huge and growing problem. That’s why the Commonwealth Club is dedicating two panel discussions to the topic, on March 28 and May 15. For more insights on elder financial abuse, including why it’s burgeoning and steps to counter it, click here.

For Commonwealth Club CEO Gloria Duffy, the topic is intensely personal. As she revealed in a recent column in the club’s magazine, both of her parents separately were victims of elder financial abuse.

My father was conned by an attorney who created a trust for him, made himself my father’s executor and successor trustee, created an apparently bogus charity with himself as chair of the board, and directed all my father’s assets to this supposed charity. We were able to recover a fraction of my father’s estate through the courts. After this person did something similar with another family and questions were raised about whether any of the funds have been used for charitable purposes,he is under investigation by the California attorney general.

My mother was victimized by a family member living with her who gained access to her credit cards and electronic access to her bank account. Suffering from a shopping/hoarding/spending disorder, this individual used her funds to buy costly items and travel the world at my mother’s expense while her home, her health and her assets deteriorated.

“The examples are legion,” Duffy said. “It’s a very large and complex problem; it’s happening everywhere.”

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Follow her on Twitter:@csaid